Zeitgeist and the Innovation of Marxist Philosophy
Content Introduction Studies on Innovation in Marxist Philosophy (Volume 2): The Spirit of the Age and Innovation in Marxist Philosophy is one of the final research outputs of the key project "Research on the Persistence, Development, and Innovation of the Marxist Philosophical System." Rooted in a global vision and Chinese practice, this work provides a new answer to the Marxist conception of the era and proposes new lines of thought for innovation in Marxist philosophy. The themes of this volume are "viewing the era from the heights of philosophy" and "viewing philosophy from the heights of the era." The central focal points and core concepts are a crisis-innovation conception of the era and a synthetic-innovation [1] view of philosophy, which determine the three levels of the book’s content.
First, the book elucidates the three major trends of the era that are transforming the face of the world, the three fundamental contradictions [2] determining the fate of globalization, and the six major crises occurring during the difficult birth of a new type of civilization—particularly the general crisis of global capitalism underlying the contemporary international financial crisis. Second, it proposes a path of "synthetic innovation" to emerge from these crises, advocating that China follow the "great road of synthetic innovation based on the ancient and the modern, the Chinese and the foreign" [3]. This involves organically unifying scientific innovation and technological innovation with the institutional and cultural innovation of socialism with Chinese characteristics. These four pillars will support China in taking the lead to become a 21st-century innovative nation by 2020. Finally, the book presents a completely new approach to philosophical innovation, pointing toward a path of innovation characterized by the contemporarization, Sinicization, systematization, and popularization of Marxist philosophy, thereby providing the philosophical foundation for Chinese innovation. This is an innovative work that elucidates the spirit of the age and grasps the pulse of our times; it is suitable for a broad readership concerned with the spirit of the age and the fate of China.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Where is the Contemporary World Heading?—An Analysis of Seven Formulations of the Theme and Spirit of the Age Section 1: The "End of History" Theory of the Era Section 2: The "Clash of Civilizations" Theory of the Era Section 3: The "Chaotic and Out of Control" Theory of the Era Section 4: The "War on Terror" Theory of the Era Section 5: The Globalization Theory of the Era Section 6: The Comprehensive Adjustment Theory of the Era Section 7: The Reform and Innovation Theory of the Era Section 8: Basic Perspectives of the Reform and Innovation Theory of the Era
Part I: The Three Major Trends of the Era Transforming the Face of the World Chapter 1: The Trend of Economic Globalization Rooted in the Socialization of Labor Section 1: The Greatest Characteristic of the Current Era: Moving Toward a New Stage of Economic Globalization at the Turn of the Millennium Section 2: Economic Globalization: A Most Powerful Trend of the Era Section 3: Economic Globalization is Changing the Human Mode of Existence Section 4: The Deep Essence of Economic Globalization: The Internationalization of the Relations of Production Section 5: The Profound Root of Economic Globalization: The Socialization of Labor Chapter 2: The Trend of Technological Informatization Rooted in the Universalization of Social Intercourse Section 1: The Informatization of Scientific Development Section 2: The Informatization of Technological Development Section 3: The Informatization of Industrial Development Section 4: The Informatization of Social Development Section 5: The Informatization of the Development of the Era Chapter 3: The Trend of Political Democratization Rooted in Information Networking Section 1: Socialization of Labor and Economic Globalization Call for Political Democratization Section 2: Universalization of Social Intercourse and Information Networking Call for a New Type of Democracy Section 3: New Trends and Characteristics of the Development of Democratic Politics in the Contemporary World
Part II: The Three Fundamental Contradictions Determining the Fate of Globalization Chapter 4: The Fundamental Contradiction Between Economic Globalization and Capital Monopolization Section 1: New Developments of Global Giant Transnational Corporations Section 2: Transnational Regional Economic Grouping Section 3: From Private Monopoly and State Monopoly to Transnational and Global Monopoly Section 4: The First Global Empire in World History Section 5: Internationalization of the Relations of Production: Polarization on a Global Scale Chapter 5: The Fundamental Contradiction Between Political Multipolarization and Unilateralism Section 1: From Global Monopoly in the Economy to Global Empire in Politics Section 2: New Characteristics of the International Relations System: From "Bipolar Opposition" to "One Superpower and Many Great Powers" Section 3: The World Pattern in the Style of the "Six-Petal Plum Blossom" [4] and the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" [5] Section 4: Multipolarization or Unilateralism—A New Order of International Politics...
Part III: Six Major Crises in the Difficult Birth of a New Type of Civilization
Part IV: The General Crisis of Global Capitalism Exposed by the Contemporary International Financial Crisis
Part IV: The Path of Synthetic Innovation for Emerging from the Contemporary Crisis
Part VI: The Path of Innovation in Marxist Philosophy
Part VII: The Objectives of Innovation in Marxist Philosophy
Afterword